Oct 12, 2008 12:16 pm US/Eastern
Kenyan Charles Munyeni Wins Boston Half Marathon
BOSTON (AP) ―
Charles Munyeni of Kenya held off countryman and training partner Gilbert Okari to win the
Boston half marathon with a time of 1:02:45.87 on Sunday. Okari finished in 1:02:47.62.
In the women's race, 20-year-old Azalech Masresha of Ethiopia outran Irene Limika of Kenya down the final stretch to finish in 1:11:43.27. Limika (1:11:44.12) was less than a second behind Masresha and more than 25 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Neriah Asiba of Kenya (1:12:10.27).
The youngest entrant in the men's field, Munyeni, 22, paced the pack through the first nine miles but fell a few strides behind the taller Okari on a downhill stretch of mile 10. He pulled nearly even by mile 12 and overtook Okari for good on the gravel track before the finish line at Robert Clemente Park in Back Bay.
"I knew that I had a finishing kick," Munyeni said. "The way I was running, I felt good."
Okari, 30, was a week removed from winning the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon in San Jose, Calif. Munyeni finished seventh at that race.
Masresha, the youngest participant on the women's side, has only been running competitively for four years. Still, she had more experience at the distance than Limika, who was running just her second half marathon and looked to Masresha for pacing guidance during the race.
"The Ethiopian lady (Masresha), she's very strong," Limika said. "She gave me very good competition. We were running together, she was helping me."
Masresha, unfamiliar with what she described as a "hilly course," said she stayed even with Limika until the final 100 yards.
"It's not an easy course and I'm happy that I won," she said through interpreter Bruke Tadesse of Cambridge, who ran the race on the men's side.
Abraham Ng'etich of the Bronx, N.Y., by way of Kenya, was the top American finisher, taking fifth in 1:07:29.17. James Gale of Allendale, Mich. was sixth and Louis Raffetto of South Boston finished seventh.
Janet Cherobon of Lawrenceville, Ga., finished sixth in 1:13:43.02 for the women.
Tony Nogueira of Glen Ridge, N.J., won men's push rim wheelchair division. Laurie Stephens of Wenham, Mass., took first place in the women's wheelchair race.
Five thousand people registered for The Boston Athletic Association's eighth half marathon. The 13.1-mile course starts in Back Bay and winds through the Emerald Necklace park system. A total of $30,000 in prize money was awarded, with winners taking home $5,000.
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